Jesus calls his followers not just to an entry level pass model of faithfulness but to a life of ongoing and deepening discipleship. With this in mind, our church leadership has prayerfully sought a vision for the season ahead that will guide our congregation into that life of deeper faithfulness.
This vision has four main parts:
TOGETHER
Some of us probably remember a time when it was PERSONAL faith that was the major emphasis. And it remains true that no one can believe on your behalf: not parents, friends, or clergy. But in this increasingly fragmented world it's ESSENTIAL that we don't lose sight of the truth that Jesus saves people into HIS BODY, the church. We want to be a church where this is real and vital to who we are. We want to emphasize ministries that bring people together across things that might commonly be divides (age, generation, stages of life, etc).
PREPARE
We won't get far in our faith if we don't have a strong foundation on the basics. While we don't all need to be graduate level scholars, we do need basic literacy in the truth and contents of the Scriptures and a solid understanding of the key doctrines of the Christian faith. We never outgrow the need for simple things like spending time in God's Word daily or committing passages to memory to help us in times either of temptation or opportunity.
PRACTICE
Of course, when we begin to dig into God's Word, we soon realize that it calls us to do things. It calls us to live out what we learn. It calls us to practice our faith in concrete ways. In the life of discipleship, this happens really well when we have more mature Christian leaders or mentors who can come alongside us and offer support and guidance. We're blessed in this community to have BOTH an influx of eager young men and women studying at Briercrest College & Seminary AND plenty of seasoned leaders to teach and train in the way of Jesus!
RISK
Finally, any honest attempt to follow the teachings of Jesus will confront us with the fact that it's not a call to a life of ease. Jesus calls his followers to risk or sacrifice. This doesn't mean that we're only faithful if we're miserable! But it does mean that our faith WILL calls us to get out of the safety of our comfort zone and into the place where we have to fully rely upon HIM!
